Germany
Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, About this sound listen , is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, with its main centers of Dortmund and Essen. The country's other major cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Bremen, Dresden, Hannover, and Nuremberg. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the center of the Protestant Reformation. After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Confederation was formed in 1815. The German revolutions of 1848–49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights. In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the revolution of 1918–19, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, World War II and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded: West Germany, formed of the American, British and French occupation zones, and East Germany, formed of the Soviet occupation zone. Following the Revolutions of 1989 that ended communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe, the country was reunified on 3 October 1990. In the 21st century, Germany is a great power with a strong economy; it has the world's 4th largest economy by nominal GDP, and the 5th largest by PPP. As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer of goods. A developed country with a very high standard of living, it upholds a social security and universal health care system, environmental protection, and a tuition-free university education. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G7, the G20, and the OECD. Known for its rich cultural history, Germany has been continuously the home of influential and successful artists, philosophers, musicians, sportspeople, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, and inventors. German Leaders # Wilhelm I 1871 – 1888 (Emperor) # Frederick III 9 March 1888 – 15 June 1888 (Emperor) # Kaiser Wilhelm II 1888 – 1918 (Emperor) # Friedrich Ebert 1919 – 1925 (President) # Paul von Hindenburg 1925 – 1934 (President) # Adolf Hitler 1934 – 1945 (Führer) # Karl Dönitz 30 April 1945 – 23 May 1945 (President) # Theodor Heuss 1949 – 1959 (President of West Germany) # Wilhelm Pieck 1949 – 1960 (President of East Germany) # Heinrich Lübke 1959 – 1969 (President of West Germany) # Otto Grotewohl 1949 – 1964 (Prime Minister of East Germany) # Gustav Heinemann 1969 – 1974 (President of West Germany) # Walter Scheel 1974 – 1979 (President of West Germany) # Karl Carstens 1979 – 1984 (President of West Germany) # Richard von Weizsäcker 1984 – 1994 (President) # Roman Herzog 1994 – 1999 (President) # Johannes Rau 1999 – 2004 (President) # Horst Köhler 2004 – 2010 (President) # Christian Wulff 2010 – 2012 (President) # Joachim Gauck 2012 – 2017 (President) # Frank-Walter Steinmeier 2017 - (President) German Chancellors # Otto von Bismarck 1871 – 1890 # Leo von Caprivi # Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst # Bernhard von Bülow # Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg # Georg Michaelis # Georg von Hertling # Maximilian of Baden # Philipp Scheidemann # Gustav Bauer # Hermann Müller March 27 1920 – June 21 1920 and then June 28 1928 – March 27 1930 # Constantin Fehrenbach # Joseph Wirth # Wilhelm Cuno # Gustav Stresemann # Wilhelm Marx 1923 – 1925 and then 1926 – 1928 # Hans Luther 1925 – 1926 # Heinrich Brüning 1930 – 1932 # Franz von Papen 1 June 1932 – 17 November 1932 # Kurt von Schleicher 1932 – 1933 # Adolf Hitler 1933 – 1945 # Joseph Goebbels 30 April 1945 – 1 May 1945 # Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk 1 May 1945 – 23 May 1945 # Konrad Adenauer # Ludwig Erhard # Kurt Georg Kiesinger # Willy Brandt # Helmut Schmidt # Helmut Kohl # Gerhard Schröder # Angela Merkel